


Stand Behind Me

by s_the_queen



Series: The IronFam Chronicles [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bruce Banner & Tony Stark Friendship, F/F, F/M, Flash Thompson Being A Jerk, Harley Keener & Peter Parker Friendship, James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark Friendship, M/M, Michelle Jones Is a Good Bro, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Precious Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-24
Updated: 2020-04-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 22:42:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,236
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23824780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/s_the_queen/pseuds/s_the_queen
Summary: I'm feeling lazy right now, so here are the facts:-Tony Stark is *soft* on the inside, and has separation anxiety following the Snap.-Tony Stark is way more of a dad than he lets on, and he has been for a long time.-Priya (OC) is a mutant. Also a huge nerd.-Harley is a dick, but also the best. Also a huge nerd.-Peter Parker is Spider-Man. Also a huge nerd.-Morgan Stark is a little shit. Also an angel.-Rhodey is a little shit. Also an angel. Also an Uncle.-Pepper is *stressed*. Also, soft. Also, IronMom. Also a blessing.-Tony Stark is Iron Man. Also a huge nerd.-The future of the Avengers, and the world, is bright.-Spideychelle-BroTPs galore-This is not a "Clint-in-the-vents" type of fic.-There will be a field trip.-We stan the AcaDec team. Except Flash. Flash can suck it.-This *is* and Endgame fix-it, where most of the movie is canon except for the end because HOW DARE.I know it's late, but I needed time to mourn and process.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Peter Parker/Michelle Jones, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts
Series: The IronFam Chronicles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1716610
Comments: 5
Kudos: 26





	1. An Idea

"Alright, kid," Tony announced, striding into the lab. "We have an idea."

"What's the idea?" he asked absently, not looking up from his current project—wafer-thin screwdriver in hand. "And who's we? The last "we" was you and Cap, and that ended in Nat beating the crap out of me."

" _What?"_ An alarmed, familiar voice demanded. Peter spun in his chair so fast that he nearly fell out of it. He would have, if not for his reflexes. 

"May!"

"I already told you about that," Tony assured her. "The hand-to-hand combat lessons. So that he doesn't...how did you put it? _YEET_ yourself into bad guys?"

Apparently, May remembers that, because she "ohhhhh's" in realization as she nods. 

"Can we stop sharing my embarrassing stories without my permission?" Peter begged. "No, wait—May, why are you here?"

"We have a standing lunch date to discuss your wellbeing and development," Tony replied. "And Rhodey, Bruce and Pepper joined us today, which led to an _excellent_ idea." He clapped his hands together. Peter relaxed a little. The idea couldn't be that bad if those three were involved. "How would you like to spend your summer with an R&D internship at our outpost facility?"

"Outpost facility? What outpost facility?"

May snorted. "According to Rhodey, it's where Tony stores his prodigy children when they graduate."

Peter stared at them blankly. "His what?"

"Apparently, there have been a few other pseudo-Stark adoptees. You're just his favorite." May smirked. 

"Hush woman. You'll ruin my cred. The outpost facility is a lab just outside of Fairfield, Virginia, where I place my more mad-scientist level employees. It gives them space to invent and test without the risk of destroying property or risking civilian lives. It's where we tested VERONICA and the Hulkbuster." He explained. 

Peter frowned. "Uh...I can't go to Virginia. What about Spider-Man?"

Tony and May shared a look. "We decided...well, decided is the wrong word..." May began. 

"Look, we've all been through a lot, kid. We all think it might be a good idea for you to take a break—just a break—and start getting work experience and back on top of your school stuff. Just for the summer."

"What about _patrols_?" He demanded. 

"If you agree to do this, we'll work with the other Avengers to make sure your patrols are covered," Tony replied immediately. "It'll be a good experience for you, and we'll all get the opportunity to relax a little. Especially your aunt. It's a little difficult to see you throw yourself head-first into danger after we just got you back, kid."

"Oh god, _that's_ unfair! You're totally guilt-tripping me!" He cried. 

"100%." May grinned.

"Besides, you'll meet more of the future Avengers." Tony continued. "Really, we're not KO-ing the spider. Just a...scientific hiatus. And heaps of training." He explained. 

Now _that_ sounded more tempting. Future Avengers who worked at SI's outpost facility? He loved working with Tony, but it would be cool to work with people closer to his age...who he wouldn't have to explain memes to. The science-bro Avengers of the future.

"If you're sure that Spidey won't be missed..."

"Oh, he'll be missed. No one can replace Spider-Man. But we can cover him while he takes some time to be a kid." May explained warmly. 

"Learning and growing and all that." Tony agreed. 

He pondered for a while—longer than Tony and May had hoped, but finally nodded. "Okay. Yeah. It sounds like fun."

"Done deal. I'll call down and have them set up lab space for you. You work on getting together a couple of ideas. I want you to get familiar with standard lab procedure for MIT or if—for some ridiculous reason—you choose not to work at Stark Industries. That means submitting proposals and getting them approved."

Peter nodded. "And who will I be submitting them to?"

"First will be your supervisor. Then if your supervisor approves, it's submitted to me." He replied. "Your supervisor for the summer will be Priya Williams-Mehta. She's intimidating at first, but she mostly doesn't like distraction. Once you learn to read her moods, she's a piece of cake."

"That's his oldest prodigy child," May explained, smirking. 

"Ignore her. She's been listening to Rhodey." He rolled his eyes. "The outpost is where most Avengers tech is produced aside from my lab. It's remote and secure, and its location is confidential, so even though I trust you implicitly, you'll have to sign a crap-ton of paperwork."

"And you won't be able to tell Ned and MJ," May added. 

Peter flinched. That...wouldn't be easy. "And what will I tell them I'm doing all summer? That's my best friend and my girlfriend. I'm bad at lying to begin with, but with them, it's just pitiful."

"Summer camp?" Tony suggested dryly. May elbowed him.

"Say you're helping with repairs and research projects at the compound." She suggested. "They already know that civilians aren't allowed on the grounds. Besides, the damage is awful and the terrain is hazardous, so they won't _want_ to visit."

He squinted at her. "You've given this a lot of thought."

She snorted. "Of course I did. Have you met yourself? If I didn't have a response to everything, you wouldn't go."

He had to admit. She had him there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Senior year begins. (Short chapter)

It was now the first day of his senior year. He'd gotten back from the outpost facility a week ago, wanting to spend the last week of summer with Ned and MJ. 

He'd been anxious about his decision to spend his summer at the outpost, but he was immensely grateful now. His family had grown. His summer had taken his mentorship with Mr. Stark—Tony—a step further. He finally understood how far Tony had been willing to go to get him back, and they got closer and as a result, he got closer to Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey. He'd gained siblings, too. While he would always have a brother in Ned, he was thrilled when he was introduced to Tony's two other pseudo-children. Pri and Harley were the saltiest mega-nerds he'd ever met, and he loved them. Even if their goal in life was to embarrass him to death. 

He learned so much. He'd gotten to train with Natasha and make upgrades to his suit. Where he'd fought on instinct before, he now had skill and grace behind him. He'd gotten way better at dodging knives in close quarters, too. He'd learned a crap-ton about coding and robotics. He'd done a ton of work in custom-programming Karen, and he'd taken apart and put together the Iron Spider at least a dozen times. He had gained skill and knowledge that would help immensely in putting May and Tony's minds at ease. 

He healed. He'd had time to treat the PTSD he didn't even realize he had. The memory of being crushed by a building, the vacuum of space, dissolving into dust, blasters from a hostile alien spacecraft raining fire—they all took more of a toll than he'd realized. He wasn't magically cured but he was better, and he was aware. That mattered. 

Now, he was excited. He couldn't wait to introduce Pri and Harley to Ned and MJ. Harley and MJ would get along like salt in seawater, and since Pri was a fringe-Avenger and a mutant, Ned would probably become her one-man fan club and probably her partner in digital crime. Luckily, they'd reached a new arrangement regarding their location. 

He greeted Ned with their handshake, and they traded class schedules—scanning for shared classes.

"You're taking AP Physics? Why? You can just take the AP test without taking the course, you know." Ned scolded him. "That class assigns more homework than any other, and you're already slammed—"

"I already know the material." Peter shrugged. "It's my easy A for the semester. You know, like Applied Comp Sci is for you?"

"We've got Chem, English, and Calc II together," Ned muttered, already moving on. "Your plate's kinda full, Pete. With the...you know. And AcaDec, and the internship. You sure you don't want to lighten the load a little?"

"Mr. Stark wants me to go to MIT." He rolled his eyes. "Can't put the web-slinging on a college app. So yeah, I'm sure."

"Dude, you're Tony Stark's personal intern. You can definitely put that on a college app." 

There was a derisive scoff from behind them. "Still riding that bullshit, Parker? You expect _anyone_ to believe you still have that internship when you've been gone for five years? That's not how employment _works_ , Penis. You'd know that if you actually _had_ the internship."

"Could you like...wait a week before being a total tool?" MJ interrupted, sliding up to them and handing over her class schedule. "Nobody was talking to you, Eugene."

"Whatever. Have fun dating a pathological liar." He laughed, slamming into Peter's shoulder as he passed. 

"Ignore him," Ned said. "Just remember that he won't have a letter of recommendation from Tony Stark at the end of the year."

Even MJ cracked a smile at that. 

"Hey, what are you two doing on Thursday after AcaDec?" He asked. When they shrugged, he asked, "Wanna come tour my lab? I wanna show you some of what I worked on over the summer. And there a few people I want you to meet, too. People I worked with. They'll be working at the Tower for a week before going back to the compound." Natasha had also been teaching him how to lie with a straight face. 

He'd just signed so much paperwork that swore him to secrecy—so while he didn't _like_ lying to them, he kinda had to. Besides, it wasn't a big lie. It was just lying about a location. They still knew what he'd been up to. He figured there was some moral wiggle room there. 

"You want us to come to the Tower?" Ned squeaked. Peter shook his head, smiling. Ned was so predictable. 

"Yes, Ned, I want you to visit the Tower." He chuckled. "Mostly so that you can meet the two other people Mr. Stark is mentoring."

"Did you mean: Adopting." MJ drawled, unimpressed. 

Peter spluttered. "He's not _adopting—_ "

"Dude, sorry, but I'm with MJ. The guy built a time machine because he missed you. I have to make sure to enforce my scheduled best-friend time with you because he sucks up so much of your free time."

"And he moved you and May to the Tower because he wants you close. And he put a _baby-monitor protocol_ in your suit. He's a helicopter parent."

Yeah, they'd told MJ about Spider-Man. Peter didn't like the idea of asking her out if she didn't know, especially after Liz. She'd said yes, but only after scoffing (loudly), informing him that _obviously_ he was Spider-Man—she'd known for months—, and demanding to know exactly _what_ type of idiot he took her for. 

"No kind of idiot! A brilliant demon. A sinister god among men! Obviously!" He'd replied, stuttering, shocked that she already knew, horrifically attracted, and appropriately terrified. He should probably introduce her to Natasha. 

But right now: "You're both being ridiculous." He muttered, opening his locker to stuff books inside. "So, Thursday? I gotta tell May so she can grocery shop and make sure it's cool with your parents." He pushed, attempting to derail them from their parenting theory, which they had dubbed the 'IronDad Hypothesis'. 

"I'm so down!" Ned replied, as enthusiastic as ever. 

"Sounds good, loser. While we're there, do you think I could meet with someone in your PR department? I've been trying to do informational interviews, and someone mentioned that even though I'm "scary and unapproachable", I have good fixer or spokesperson potential." MJ told him. "I have no idea what I want to do, other than bitchslap the patriarchy and completely destroy socioeconomic inequality."

"I'll see what I can do." He promised. "Might be a little short notice this week, since we're releasing the Ice-cap initiative this week, but I can definitely find a time soon. And you should meet with Miss Potts. Maybe she can walk you through what she used to do. I know she used to control SI's work with foundations and outreach programs." He suggested, shutting his locker and turning to go to class. At least they still had homeroom together. 

"That would be cool. I'd love to talk to her in general. She's in my top ten inspirational women."

"You should talk to Natasha, too. You know, you would probably be a kick-ass spy." He'd probably regret that suggestion someday, but hey, he was smitten and wanted her to have all the opportunities. All of them. Her eyes widened just enough to portray her shock and admiration. 

"Can you do that? Get me a meeting with Natasha Romanoff?" She asked. "I'm not sure I want to be a spy, but still. She's also like...the coolest. She was implanted at SI, right? Before she came out to the public?"

"Yeah, she was. And of course I can. I bet it would be easier than a meeting with Miss Potts. Just crash one of my training sessions, and grab dinner with us after." He offered. Ned was gaping at him silently. He grinned at them, taking MJ's hand. "I don't know why this is still a surprise to you guys."

To be fair, neither did they. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! If you liked it, you can stay tuned for updates by following me on [Tumblr](https://queen-swagzilla.tumblr.com/) and on [Twitter!](https://twitter.com/queenswagzilla/)
> 
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